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Getting meals to Missouri students learning online: “Where there’s a will there’s a way”

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Missouri has consistently ranked as one of the worst states in the nation for people having access to enough food. Many students count on their schools to provide them with a number of basic needs, including nutritious meals.

Getting meals to Missouri students learning online: “Where there’s a will there’s a way”

When Missouri’s schools closed in March to fight the spread of COVID-19, the community sprang into action to help ensure that students did not go hungry. Educators, parents, philanthropists, the Missouri National Guard and others have worked to fill the hearts, bellies and minds of our youth during these uncertain times. Some continued to do so throughout the summer and even today.

Now that the academic year has started again, Missouri schools are taking a variety of approaches to get food to kids learning remotely who also qualify for free or reduced price meals. Phil Murray, president of the Missouri National Education Association, says schools have been creative.

“A lot of places – there’s just multiple delivery spots. I know that in Poplar Bluff, where I’m from, actually they sat through the summer and actually used the schools and other locations as drop-off points for food for families. I think that where there’s a will there’s a way,” says Murray.

Some schools are also using buses to deliver food directly to kids.

“We know how important it is to make sure that our kids are taken care of and I think that’s something that we’re all on the same page on,” he says.

Doug Thaman, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association, says the state’s charter schools, which are in St. Louis and Kansas City, are taking similar measures.

“That was really important as a community to make sure that we were covering all those areas and did not have any families who just were unable to provide nutritious meals to their kids,” he says.

Thaman says some Missouri charter schools are pickup sites for anyone in the community with kids 18 and under to stop by and get meals once or twice a week. Others are running buses to key locations in neighborhoods for families who live further out and might not have transportation.

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Database of COVID-19 exposures in schools? Missouri NEA wants one.

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The Missouri National Education Association says the state should make a centralized system for the public to see information about COVID-19 exposures in K-12 and higher education schools. It has sent a letter to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education calling on the agency to create one that would “regularly publish” the information and protect patient privacy.

Database of COVID-19 exposures in schools? Missouri NEA wants one.

President Phil Murray tells Missourinet his organization began a weekly report over the summer detailing some exposures within K-12 schools because he says some communities did not have accurate information. He says in a couple instances, people were told by their administrators not to talk about any positive cases that popped up. In other cases, he says schools were not reaching their entire audience through social media, the newspaper or the radio.

“The information was not widely distributed and if you weren’t listening on that particular day or you weren’t on social media, you probably weren’t going to get that report. And so, the districts were communicating with their local communities but they were not communicating with the community as a whole,” he says.

Murray says the association’s weekly report does not capture the true scope of exposure in schools and thinks the state could present a much more comprehensive picture.

“This is something that none of us have ever had to deal with and we are all kind of making it up as we go and we are trying to work together. We have been generally very happy with the things that DESE has been doing for our schools. We just came up with this idea and we would really like for them to continue this work,” he says. “Several districts are starting to do their own reporting and we are very grateful for that. Springfield Public Schools has a dashboard. We know that the Troy Public Schools has a dashboard as well. So, districts are starting to become a little more transparent. We are just looking for all that information to be in one place.”

Some schools started this week while others started a couple weeks ago. So why is the request being made now?

“There are several districts that have been in session now for a couple weeks,” Murray says. “And so what’s happening in those districts – that’s information we would like everybody to have as well. We are all in different places right now, but we are actually in the place where we’re starting to get some real hard information and we really think that’s information that should be shared.”

Murray says the database should include:

*The building or activity in which the exposure occurred
*The date of the incident
*The number of people exposed
*Actions the school district is taking to inform parents and staff
*Safety precautions the district is implementing to limit exposure and spread to others

The association, about 34,000 members strong, wants the state to require schools to report cases directly to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

The department says schools are required to report the information to their local and state Health Departments. DESE spokesperson Mallory McGowin says the agencies are working to make this information available to the public. DESE says it has forwarded the association’s request to DHSS for review.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Parson about kids catching COVID-19 comments: ‘What I said didn’t come out the way I intended’

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Gov. Mike Parson has gained national attention for comments he made Friday on “The Marc Cox Morning Show” in St. Louis. The governor has been firm in getting Missouri’s kids back to school this fall.

Gov. Mike Parson

“These kids have got to get back to school,” Parson said. “They’re at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19, which they will — and they will when they go to school — they’re not going to the hospitals. They’re not going to have to sit in doctor’s offices. They’re going to go home, and they’re going to get over it.”

The governor’s comments have sparked a flurry of criticism in Missouri and nationally.

A statement from Missouri National Education Association President Phil Murray says Parson’s comments demonstrate “a callous disregard for the suffering of children and the safety of the parents, grandparents, educators, and students that will be put at risk if schools are reopened with improper plans and protections.”

State Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democratic candidate for governor, said Parson’s comments displayed “stunning ignorance”.

Former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, had a bit more to say.

Former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, inserted her thoughts.

During a press conference Wednesday at the state Capitol, Parson started off by bringing up the topic. The governor says he did not do a good job of explaining his point – that COVID-19 will likely be in Missouri’s schools and we must be prepared.

“For someone to use politics as a tool to say that I don’t give a damn about children is one sick individual,” Parson says during a Capitol press conference Wednesday. “And anybody that wants to follow my career, take a good look at it and you’ll find out who I care about and who I’ve protected.”

Parson pointed out that his daughter is a teacher and he has five grandchildren attending public schools. He added that he has funded education more than any other Missouri governor.

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